The Big Solar Eclipse

On your mark, get set, go.  It is time to start your planning.  As of March 14, 2017, there are only 160 days left before the August 21, 2017, Great American Solar Eclipse.   

If you have the ability to travel, make plans to travel toward the path of totality to see the eclipse.  If you live in Maine, you may only have to travel about 1,000 miles.  The exact distance will be up to you and where you go.

The eclipse will start for the continental United Sates on August 21 at 11:46 a.m. ET when the moon’s shadow first reaches the state of Oregon.   About an hour later, at 12:48 p.m., that area of Oregon will become dark as the sun is completely blocked out and totality begins.  The longest duration of totality will occur near Hopkinsville, Ky., at 2:21 p.m. ET.  Totality in the U.S. will end at 4:03 p.m. ET when the moon’s shadow crosses into the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina.

Not sure where you will want to see the eclipse from?  Here are all of the states it will occur in: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

I know several people in this area who are in the process of making their plans to observe the eclipse.  Because of the weather and the likelihood of pop-up thunder storms in August, my son and I will be waiting until a few days prior to the eclipse to pick our site.  We will drive there, camp out along the way, watch the eclipse and then travel back.

Even if you do not know much about astronomy, there will be several eclipse parties taking place during this event.  If you want to check these events out and use them to determine where you want to go to see the eclipse, check out the NASA website – https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/

Another site to check out is https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2017-august-21

 

THE NIGHT SKY

 

The International Space Station is visible as follows:

ISS mornings through March 24.

ISS evenings March 26 through April 15.

ISS mornings after May 4.

 

For the times of other events, go to www.calsky.com.  You will need to register at this site and load your location to be able to get exact times.  The University of Maine at Presque Isle is located at 68d00m7.8s west longitude and 46d40m45.6s north latitude.

To get a free sky chart go to www.skymaps.com.

 

Sun and Planet Visibility

03/10/2017

05:53 Sunrise.

17:30 Sunset.

Not visible Mercury.

17:28–20:44 Venus.

18:00–21:00 Mars.

20:12–05:42 Jupiter.

01:48–05:24 Saturn.

 

03/20/2017

06:34 Sunrise.

18:44 Sunset.

19:00–19:54 Mercury.

18:42–19:54 Venus.

19:12–22:00 Mars.

20:30–06:24 Jupiter.

02:12–06:12 Saturn.

 

03/01 17:48 Moon 4.6 degrees from Mars.

03/01 Neptune in conjunction with the sun–farthest from the Earth.

03/02 05:16 ISS passes 1.4 degrees from Alpha Scorpius (Antares).

03/02 05:17 ISS passes 1.2 degrees from Saturn.

03/03 02:24 Moon at perigee–Closest to the Earth.

03/04 06:10 Mercury 1.0 degrees from Neptune.

03/04 19:08 Moon Immersion (eclipse begins) of Theta 1 Taurus.

03/04 19:12 Moon Immersion (eclipse begins) of Theta 2 Taurus.

03/04 20:14 Moon Emersion (eclipse ends) of Theta 1 Taurus.

03/04 20:18 Moon Emersion (eclipse ends) of Theta 2 Taurus.

03/05 06:32 First Quarter Moon–This is the biggest first quarter moon of the year.

03/06 04:59 ISS passes 0.39 degrees from Deneb (Alpha Cygnus).

03/06 19:30 Mercury in superior conjunction–other side of the sun.

03/12 10:53 Full Moon.

03/14 Pi Day.

03/14 21:24 Moon 3.4 degrees from Jupiter.

03/17 07:00 Equilux–Equal length of day and night for Presque Isle.

03/18 08:27 Mercury 8.5 degrees from Venus.

03/18 23:22 Moon at Apogee–furthest from the Earth.

03/20 06:06 Moon 2.4 degrees from Saturn.

03/20 06:28 March Equinox–Spring begins.

03/20 11:58 Last Quarter Moon.

03/23 09:54 Mercury at Perihelion–closest to the sun.

03/25 06:18 Venus in Inferior Conjunction with the sun–between the Earth and the sun.

03/26 11:06 Mercury 2.1 from Uranus.

03/27 22:57 New Moon.

03/28 20:00 Moon 9.5 degrees from Mercury.

03/28 21:02 ISS passes 0.25 degrees from Gamma Orion (Bellatrix).

03/29 20:10 ISS passes 0.53 degrees from Alpha Canis Minor (Procyon).

03/30 01:42 Mercury at half phase.

03/30 19:30 Moon 6.9 degrees from Mars.

03/31 23:24 Moon Immersion (eclipse begins) of Hyadum 1 (Gamma Taurus).

04/01 03:18 Mercury at greatest elongation east (19 degrees)–visible in the evening sky.

04/01 20:43 ISS passes 0.022 degrees from Mars–May pass over Mars.

04/03 14:39 First Quarter Moon.

04/03 18:59 ISS passes 0.9 degrees from Mars.

04/07 17:39 Jupiter at opposition–directly behind the Earth and closest to the Earth.

04/09 21:45 ISS passes 1.0 degrees from Alpha Orion (Betelgeuse).

04/10 1,180 anniversary of Halley’s Comet’s closest known approach to the Earth, only 3 million miles (837 AD).

04/11 02:08 Full Moon.

04/11 20:00 ISS passes 0.85 degrees from Alpha Auriga (Capella).

04/11 21:35 ISS passes 0.003 degrees from Zeta Orion (Alnitak), may eclipse the star).

04/13 19:50 ISS passes 0.07 degrees from Mars.

04/13 19:50 ISS passes 0.45 degrees from Alpha Taurus (Aldebaran).

04/14 Uranus in conjunction with the sun, farthest from the Earth.

04/15 05:57 Moon at apogee–farthest from the Earth.

04/16 05:06 Moon 5.3 degrees from Saturn.

04/19 05:59 Last Quarter Moon.

04/20 01:54 Mercury in inferior conjunction with the sun.  Between the Earth and the sun and closest to the Earth.

04/22 04:00 April Lyrids–7 meteors per hour.

04/22 10:00 April Lyrids Maximum.

04/23 04:00 April Lyrids–6 meteors per hour.

04/23 05:30 Moon 8.5 degrees from Venus.

04/24 50^th anniversary of the first person to die on a space mission–Vladimir Komarov (1967).

04/26 08:16 New Moon.

04/26 11:12 Venus reaches its brightest in the evening sky (mag -4.75).

04/27 12:08 Moon at perigee–closest to the Earth.

04/27 21:18 Moon 8.4 degrees from Mars.

04/28 10:49 Mercury 0.1 degrees from Uranus.

04/29 Astronomy Day.

04/30 50^th anniversary of the first photo of the Earth from the surface of the Moon (1967).